"The model for The Queen is Dead is a young Dutch ceramics artist who I met through Instagram. He came to Barcelona for a session of reference photos and midway through, I began to feel that I wasn't getting what I wanted from the set up. He had delicate features and an undeniable radiance, which I liked, but it read as juvenile and too pretty without something serving as contrast. So, I threw a sheepskin rug over his shoulders and told him to imagine himself as the ambitious 'next in line to the throne.' Suddenly this regal, steely expression appeared on his face and I knew I’d have something to work with. I brought focus to his determined gaze by sharpening the rendering of the face and hair while leaving the hands and fur more loosely painted." – ALESSANDRO TOMASSETTI